I think there isn't. Eva is not my favorite anime, but the characters are top-notch. I got to admit there's no anime that can measure up to the characterization in Eva, sorry

Well, you did use the word "dare"

Bleach and Dragonball Z/Super for starters

Bleach has a load of well defined characters, and while NGE has some great characterization, it's not above all other anime, as much as it pains me to say that. The show itself (as you said anime, I'll keep everything limited to the original 26 episode run) is relatively short, so the cast of well defined characters is limited to the EVA pilots, Misato, and Gendo. Kaji, Ritsuko, and the stooges are relatively light on chaacterization in comparison, and Fuyutsuki is relatively wasted as a character. Even expanding to EoE and the rebuild, only Shinji's characterization is improved drastically, with EoE giving Asuka and Misato some extra characterization as well.

Bleach has at least 12 well defined characters (Ichigo, Rukia, Orihime, Chad, Uryū, Renji, and Byakyua off the top of my head), and the Dragonball franchise itself has a litany of well defined characters besides Goku. Gohan goes from small child to the most powerful warrior of the Earth to normal teenager then has his hidden potential unlocked. Piccolo went from the spawn of a demon to an alien warrior between series, who then becomes a surrogate father to Gohan and dies to save him. Then we have Vegeta, who went from evil warrior, to tepid ally, to father and friend who fights for Earth just the same, touting his Sayian pride all the way.

Voted in college to be Most likely to Take Over the World, how to do that however, will require at leastFour Evangelions. Thanks for the idea Misato-san!"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Said at the beginning of the nuclear age by J. Robert Oppenheimer."That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Words of Wisdom from German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

"Better" is difficult to gauge, since perceiving something as "better" is inherently subjective. Better could mean more interesting, better could be more fleshed out, better could be more developed or portrayed in a different way.I for one like the characters of NGE very much, but I like the character's of Utena as much as those of NGE.

There's also a distinction between good characters and character development, and whether in a substantial cast development is limited to one or two key characters or spread across them all.

I would offer Bokura ga ita as a particularly fine example of development (you get barely half of it, though well done, in the anime - read the second half of the manga afterwards for the full impact) - in the same vein Honey and Clover also does well, but takes second place to it. FMA, certainly, as Sachi said. Of ongoing shows My Hero Academia is promising in this regard - the way it integrates character development into the fights is good.

"Being human, having your health; that's what's important."(from: Magical Shopping Arcade Abenobashi )"As long as we're all living, and as long as we're all having fun, that should do it, right?"(from: The Eccentric Family )Avatar: Sad, sad Shinji... (details); Past avatars.Can't wait for 3.0+1.0? - try Afterwards... my post-Q Evangelion fanfic (discussion)

Voted in college to be Most likely to Take Over the World, how to do that however, will require at leastFour Evangelions. Thanks for the idea Misato-san!"Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds." Said at the beginning of the nuclear age by J. Robert Oppenheimer."That which does not kill us makes us stronger." Words of Wisdom from German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche.

I think I'll go with Tokyo Ghoul. I've started watching it on Toonami. The character Kanneki reminds me a bit of Shinji, a bit timid and shy, not one for violence. He also not willing to eat human flesh despite him being a Ghoul, and was devastated when he became one after being bitten by another. His emotional breakdowns and the consequences of his inactions are also what reminds me of Shinji. And after he got brutally tortured and his hair turned silver white, he seemed to have developed a new personality. We also got to see the trip going on inside his head (like Shinji going through Instrumentality) where he did some self reflection with the Ghoul responsible for his transformation, and went over all the events that led to his predicament; such as his mother working herself to death to support him, his failure to save the girl's mother from one of the Ghoul hunters called the Doves, and his failure to save two of his friends from the madman who was torturing him. After coming to a realization that his passiveness will get him nowhere, and that it was alright to be a Ghoul and eat flesh to survive, his personality took a 180 turn from being cowardly to a more stoic and strong individual, whose cold glare could signify death. And that's what happened to the guy torturing him when Kanneki took a bite out him.I have yet to see the rest on Toonami, but his character development looks rather promising.

"Who dares to summon the master of masters, the deliverer of darkness, the Shogun of sorrow, Aku!?"-Aku

Exactly. The difference between most shows and NGE in general is that we focus more on the existence of problems of each of the main characters, instead of treating them as a half-an-hour problem to tackle like in most shows.

NGE is more like real life, where your problems that define you as a person don't just go away after an ephiphany. They stick with you, sometimes even having you struggle with them til the end of your days.

And why NGE is so polarizing, is because it reminds us of us having these problems, instead of using entertainment as an escape.

"You're na�ve, Cecil. Even knowing betrayal and despair, you would depend on the whims of others?" - Golbez---------------------------------------Sephiroth: "Do you miss the Light?"Golbez: "Hmph...I merely have duties to fulfill."Sephiroth: "Too close to the brightness, and you may get scorched."Golbz:.............Golbez: Your loss can strengthen you. "NGE Shinji is broken, Manga Shinji is an asshole, Rebuild Shinji is an idiot. Which is best? Uh, can I get some other options? All of these really suck." -Bagheera